personal
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49 conversations about 5 things
This week I also met with all my 101 students individually in my office, to discuss their writing samples, move some of them into other classes, and generally get a feel for where they are all at. I think I may have put out a couple of small fires. For example, one young woman, who Continue reading
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back on the horse
It’s been over a month since I’ve posted. I’ve been revelling in the first real vacation I feel I’ve had in years. No working on the novel, no thinking about teaching unless absolutely required, not much prep except tweaking course outlines, cutting and pasting course packages, and reading Angela’s Ashes. It’s been a necessary but Continue reading
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small tasks
After writing my last howl of a post, I took a sick (read: mental health) day. What I learned from this is: when you are ready to smack your students, are so tired you can’t sleep, and experience more than one crying jag in the space of a few hours, it’s time to take a Continue reading
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am I only tickled because it’s me in another language?
Perhaps I should be more jaded when it comes to the wonders of the internet, but my mind has been blown. Apparently someone is reading me in Spanish. My attempts to link to the page for you only reroute me back to the English version, so you’ll have to take my word for it, or Continue reading
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A Little from Column A, a Little from Column B
Tell me, does this make for a good first day? Or not? 1. Before I’d even arrived at my office, a student showed up at my door and, when I turned out not to be there, asked my colleagues in the surrounding offices whether it would be worth her while to come to my class Continue reading
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the pre-semester roundup
My fall semester starts officially tomorrow. My sincere intention is to continue blogging very regularly. We all know, however, how during the semester, nothing but teaching, grading and preparing seems to get done. So I wanted to mark this day in a few ways, both to celebrate the enjoyment I’ve gotten from blogging so far Continue reading
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I really do like my job. Here’s why.
1. The people in my department are totally awesome. (With a few, easily disregarded, exceptions.) 2. Even when the bookstore loses my book orders, they are so freaking nice about it that I can’t possibly get mad at them. 3. We have holidays so long that, at the end of them, I look forward to Continue reading
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in case you were wondering
So today I took the Book Quiz (thanks to LearnLearnLearn for the link) and, to my consternation, this is what I got. You’re Invisible Man! by Ralph Ellison Most of your life, people have either ignored you or told you that you were wrong. You’ve been duped, mistreated, misled, and neglected. Maybe it was because Continue reading
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The Incomparable Mr. G: Part 2
Before I began teaching CEGEP, I taught intensive summer English Immersion programs at a university in small-town Quebec. I’d already been teaching in various capacities for a while at that point, but one experience with these five-week programs made me think suddenly of Mr. G. My class that summer was a joy, and I established Continue reading
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The Incomparable Mr. G: Part 1
Mr. G. taught me literature and creative writing when I was in high school. He was in his late 50s at that time. During the two years I knew him, I never saw a discipline issue arise in his classroom. He encouraged students to bring snacks and lunches to class with them, and often said Continue reading
About Me
My job is to teach people to read and write; aside from that, I like to learn things.
Classroom as Microcosm 